Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Sven Baertschi spent the season with the Langenthal club playing mostly for the U-20 squad. In 37 games, he scored 21 goals and added 32 assists for 53 points. In 6 postseason games, Baertschi scored 4 goals and added 3 assists for 7 points to go along with 35 penalty minutes. Baertschi also played for the U-17 squad, scoring 4 goals and adding 4 assists for 8 points in 3 games. Baertschi played for Switzerland at the 2009 U-18 World Junior Championship where he scored 1 goal and added 2 assists for 3 points in 6 games.

2009-10: Baertschi spent most of the season with Langenthal’s National League B team. In 37 games for that team, he scored 6 goals and added 6 assists for 12 points. In 7 playoff games, Baertschi picked up 3 assists. Bartschi also played for Zug in the Elite Junior A league, scoring 10 goals and adding 13 assists for 23 points in 9 games. In 2 playoff games for Zug, he scored 3 goals and added 1 assist for 4 points. Baertschi once again represented Switzerland at the 2010 U-18 World Junior Championship, scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists for 3 points in 6 games. He was named one of the top 3 players on his team for the tournament. Baertschi was chosen in the first round, 7th overall, of the 2010 CHL Import Draft by the Portland Winterhawks.

2010-11: Baertschi moved over to the WHL to play his rookie season in that league. In 66 games, he scored 34 goals and added 51 assists for 85 points to go along with 74 penalty minutes. Baertschi played for Switzerland at the 2011 U-20 World Junior Championship, scoring 1 goal and adding 1 assist for 2 points in 6 games. Baertschi played for Team Orr at the 2011 CHL Home Hardware Top Prospects Game, where he scored 1 goal and added 1 assist in Orr’s 7-1 win over Team Cherry. Baertschi was chosen in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames.

2011-12: Baertschi made his NHL debut with the Flames in March after a dominant junior season with the Portland Winterhawks. He scored 3 goals and was plus-two with 4 penalty minutes in five games with Calgary. Baertschi and St. Louis prospect Ty Rattie were one of the most prolific scoring duos in junior hockey. Baertschi was the second-leading scorer for Portland behind Rattie and finished tenth in the WHL with 94 points (33 goals, 61 assists) despite skating in just 47 games due to an early season hip injury. Portland reached the WHL Finals after finishing second in the U.S. Division during the season. Baertschi was plus-11 with 14 goals and 20 assists in 22 playoff games.

2012-13: Baertschi skated in 20 NHL games with the Flames during three stints with Calgary in his first pro season. He played four games following the NHL lockout in January, missed 11 games with a hip injury before returning in late February and playing six games and then was re-called in April; finishing the year in Calgary. He had one assist in his first two stints and had nine of his ten points in April – finishing the year with 3 goals and 7 assists – and was an even plus/minus with 6 penalty minutes for Calgary. Baertschi played 32 games for Flames AHL affiliate Abbotsford. He scored 10 goals with 16 assists and was -1 with 16 penalty minutes. The Heat missed the playoffs after finishing fourth in the North Division.

Talent Analysis

Baerstchi is a good two-way player with high-end offensive talent. The playmaking winger has really improved his skating explosiveness while learning to change speed to throw off the defender. Since being drafted in 2011, he has really improved his vision and hockey sense as well as his overall game. The first rounder clearly projects as a top line forward. His work ethic, passion, desire and attitude to be the best are top notch.

Future

Baertschi was dealt by the Calgary Flames to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a second round pick.

Photo: T.J. Brodie was a leader on the Abbotsford Heat's defensive corps before he was called up to Calgary, where he has recently skated in the Flames' top-four. (courtesy of Bob Frid/Icon SMI)

The Abbotsford Heat finished comfortably in fourth place in the AHL Western Conference for the 2011-12 regular season, playing in the Calder Cup Playoffs after missing them in the previous year. The Heat swept through the first round but was beaten in five games by the Toronto Marlies in the second round of the playoffs. The team lost to a Marlies team that would end up playing for the Calder Cup.

Photo: St. Louis Blues rookie Vladimir Tarasenko, who is ranked second in HF's prospect rankings, is off to a fine start in his NHL career, making him a leading candidate for NHL Rookie of the Year (courtesy of Danny Murphy/Icon SMI)

With the end of the lockout and the abbreviated 48-game season, the opportunities for NHL rookies to make an impression is somewhat limited. Many of the top teams, such as the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, head into the season with their lineups virtually intact from the 2011-12 season.

Photo: Though the Columbus Blue Jackets added several important prospects this past off-season, none were more prominent than defenseman Ryan Murray, who was selected second overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. (Derek Leung/Getty Images)

Below is the bottom third of the NHL Team Rankings in terms of prospects as voted on by Hockey's Future staff. To determine the ranking, each team's entire prospect pool was taken into consideration. For reference, just the top five prospects are listed. To be eligible, a prospect must meet HF's prospect criteria. The rankings are done twice a year, with the second scheduled to be published in the Spring.

Photo: Goaltender Andrey Makarov, signed by the Buffalo Sabres in September, sealed Team Russia's Subway Super Series victory with a pair of stellar performances in the tournament's final leg. (courtesy of Derek Leung/Getty Images)

In the first edition of On the Rush for the 2012-13 season, we take a look at prospects either excelling at their respective levels of play as well as those players who are not quite living up to expectations. This month we take a look at how the NHL lockout is impacting prospects playing in the minor leagues and junior levels and also discuss several top performers from the recent Subway Super Series between Team Russia and the CHL's top players.

Photo: After spending most of his 2011-12 season with the Flames, center Roman Horak has opened his 2012-13 season with a goal-per-game pace for Abbotsford in the AHL. (courtesy of Bob Frid/Icon SMI)

After years of poor draft selections, trading away draft picks to try to win now, and bad development of their prospects, the Calgary Flames have slowly improved their organizational depth and talent pool over the last few years. The Flames still have a lot of work to do in order for their farm system to be where a smaller market team, in today's NHL cap world, needs to be for success as a franchise.